Not long ago, tourists at Yellowstone National Park scooped up a baby bison into their car and it was later euthanized because it was rejected by its herd due to human intervention.
The big lesson to be learned here was to stay away from wild animals, but sometimes, people can’t help themselves, even if they have no intention of scooping animals up into cars, but just getting a closer look or the perfect smartphone photograph/selfie instead.
A woman who was spying on a wild elk in the middle of Yellowstone National Park, learned her lesson the hard way when the elk actually charged her for getting too close.
The video, which was captured in portrait mode from a smartphone, doesn’t actually display the contact between the elk and the woman.
Jody Tibbetts, the nature guide who the woman was with, reports that the woman fell to the ground before the elk even approached her to prevent a clash. The elk then decided to turn around and walk away, rather than harm the woman.
The woman is reportedly alright, but you can definitely tell from what she says in the video that she won’t be getting close a wild animal again. Lessons have been learned after this trip.
Park rangers warn to stay at least 25 yards away from wild animals for not only their safety, but for the park goers as well. This isn’t the first time they’ve warned of this, but they seem to have to repeat themselves an awful lot.
Yellowstone National Park is advising on their Facebook page that people be careful of elk, and that park-goers should remain at a safe distance away from wildlife to prevent confrontations and potential harm.
Source: Yellowstone National Park (Facebook) via CNN, YouTube